赤

as for koujaku im not sure what i’ll be doing with him so he’ll be inactive until i figure it out lol. so yall can go ahead and unfollow these blogs.

N examined Koujaku for a moment longer before prying his gaze away. Meeting Koujaku’s eyes was a little unnerving. One was a striking red color, and the other, or lack thereof, was hidden. It brought to N’s foggy mind images of Ghetsis. Had his state of mind been any more delirious, he might have been afraid.

"That’s unusual, I think, for a human…" he said, pausing to take a few tentative sips of water. "You have my thanks."

He put the cap back onto the bottle and let his head fall back to the mattress below. He brought a hand to his forehead, finding it damp with sweat, and closed his eyes with a shaky sigh. Rest definitely sounded appealing, even more so now that he wasn’t lying on concrete. He couldn’t think of anything else Koujaku could get for him, but he remembered something else.

The question pulled Koujaku out of his thoughts. "-Ah! I'm sorry!" How could he have forgotten to introduce himself? "I'm Koujaku." He replied while giving the younger man yet another smile.

Reshiram bent down to retrieve the tattered messenger bag that had slipped from N’s shoulder when he fell, taking the shoulder strap delicately between its teeth. Their venture into the forest hadn’t been an entirely lost cause— there were a few herbs to show for it. Reshiram could have decided to stand guard, as was its natural inclination, but it knew N wouldn’t rest easy thinking they had failed their task (nor would he be comfortable knowing his dragon was staying out in the open, in cramped space and under the noses of potentially dangerous people). It flew off in search of Zoroark.

N tried to stay awake, on the off chance that Koujaku either dropped him or took him somewhere awful, but slipped in and out of consciousness. He was barely aware of what was happening— only vaguely registering the feeling of a bed beneath him, the touch of fingers across his forehead— and only bothered to fully open his eyes again when he heard the stranger addressing him.

He blinked slowly, squinting his eyes as if against some nonexistent bright light as he tried to acquaint himself with the change in surroundings.

"I… believe so…" he answered.

When the water bottle was handed his way, he gave it an almost offended look. Cool down? He felt cold enough already— and he couldn’t stop shivering.

His mind was working much slower than usual, but eventually logic won out. He felt cold, but that was typical of fever. He took the bottle and fumbled with the loosened cap, but stopped abruptly to look at Koujaku with uncertainty.

"Ah…"

He clearly didn’t expect the stranger to actually carry him, and wasn’t sure of how to react. The movement was slow enough that it didn’t cause him too much additional nausea, but he tensed in Koujaku’s arms upon reflex. He might have protested more if his mind hadn’t been so foggy. He shuddered.

This situation was too vulnerable for his comfort. There was no way for him to trust Koujaku, or any human really… Still, Reshiram was obviously at least somewhat trusting of him. Perhaps that trust was just the result of necessity, but N believed the dragon to be a better judge of character than he was. The myths said it followed truth, after all.

He looked at Koujaku for a moment, then up questioningly at Reshiram. The Pokemon gazed back down at the pair, calm and apparently approving, before it uttered a low growl, flashing rows of fangs before closing its jaws again.

Trying to ignore Reshiram's intense stares, he continued his way back into the house with the younger man in his arms. Koujaku looked down at N, was the kid asleep again? That fast? He was unsure. Remembering of the spare room he had on the second floor, he made his way upstairs slowly.

The man rested N down on the unused bed, he decided not to cover him, the kid was already burning up enough as it was. He pushed N's hair from his face before leaving the room and returning back downstairs, there had to be something he could find to help with his fever.

Koujaku rummaged through the cabinets in the kitchen. Unable to find anything suitable for N's ailment, he let out an exasperated sigh. As he checked the fridge, a few bottles of water had caught his attention. He quickly grabbed two, along with a kitchen rag he'd found in one of the drawers, and returned back to the room which the younger man was in.

He set one of the bottles and the rag down on the nightstand besides the bed. "Yo, you still there?" He asked as he helped N sit up slightly. "I wasn't able to find much, but here," Koujaku cracked open the bottled water and handed it over. "You should at least drink this, see if you cool down a bit."

The housing district… N tried to look around, but had to close his eyes when he was struck by a wave of dizziness. How had he gotten here? The last thing he could remember was being in the forest. He must have lost consciousness when Reshiram—

"Reshiram…" he mumbled as he opened his eyes. Koujaku’s question went unheard. "Where is Reshiram?"

There was a panicked edge to his voice, but he calmed when said dragon moved forward and craned its neck so that its face was in his line of vision. It made a few soft crooning noises, reiterating to N the question Koujaku had asked before.

Can you walk?

His eyes opened halfway, just enough to catch a bleary image of something dark looming over him, something with red eyes.

He cringed with a sharp gasp, recoiling as if he expected Koujaku to strike him. His eyes were wide with fear, but they darted about wildly, glassy and unfocused. Delirious with fever, he was having trouble making sense of what he was seeing.

With effort, he tried to pull himself upright, but only managing to prop himself up awkwardly on his side. His head spun.

"Careful." Koujaku gently placed a hand on his back, helping the younger man sit up as he replied. "Ah, you're in one of the housing districts here in Benu. Don't worry, you should be safe now." I think... "I'm pretty sure laying out here in the cold ain't gonna help you. Do y'think you can walk?"

Reshiram lowered its head and crooned softly, nipping at N’s white shirt in an attempt at waking him, to no avail. The man only groaned a little and continued to shiver. There were obvious reasons as to why Reshiram tended to stay in the forest rather than coming into the town; it knew well enough that most people wouldn’t react positively to a 10-foot-tall dragon arriving at their doors carrying an unconscious boy in its jaws.

It was about to try some other course of action, but noticed as it glanced up that the man from the balcony had returned. Reshiram rose its head and watched Koujaku carefully as he made his approach.

After a few moments of intense staring, it inclined its head slightly, as if in a bow— a greeting. Despite all of the power it held, Reshiram was still incapable of using human language. It would have to communicate its concerns in some other way.

He watched the dragon carefully as it nudged the boy closer to him. Koujaku examined the younger man from afar, to be frank, he looked like shit. He couldn't help but to wonder what had happened to him. Could it have been the plague which was sweeping over the village? The man looked back up at the dragon who was staring at him with eager eyes. 

It was impossible to turn his back now, it's not like he could've just left that poor kid there, right? Kou let out another soft sight as he finally approached the boy laying on the cold ground.

The man knelt down by his side as he gently placed a hand on the boy's forehead. "Sheesh..." He faintly muttered. "Yo...You awake?" Koujaku asked in a gentle voice, hoping for an answer.

It was rare for N to wake up feeling as fatigued and sluggish as he did, but he didn’t think much of it. Despite the slight dizziness that started once he sat up, it was nothing too strong as to keep him from making his usual wandering rounds about Benu. He had gotten sick plenty of times on his treks back home on account of a weaker immune system, so he decided it was nothing he couldn’t just ignore. It would pass soon enough.

As Zoroark and Reshiram went off to hunt, he made his way to the farm on the other edge of town, people-watching all the while. A few mentions of sick family members and dying crops met his ears, and as he got to the farmlands, he found that even the livestock were discussing similar things.

"And she’s fallen ill as well?" he asked one of the dairy cows, upon realizing that their numbers had dwindled since his last visit.

“Yes. It’s a terrible shame… Our people seem to be doing all they can, but they don’t know what’s plaguing her… None of us do.”

N reached over the fence to consolingly pat her head. “I’m sorry, my friend… Perhaps there’s something I can do to help? I can’t sit idly by when a friend is suffering.”

“Oh, no— Your good wishes are enough. I don’t know of anything else you could do. If our people can’t do anything—”

"They don’t go into the forests, though, do they? They’re afraid to go too far. I’ve been reading about the plants that grow here. There are some that lessen symptoms of illness, yes? The probability of me being able to find them is small, but…"

“I don’t know, N, dear, that’s—”

"Am I wrong?"

It was as good a plan as any, he thought. The forest was vast; maybe he wouldn’t be able to find anything that would be of actual use, but it was better than doing nothing. He promptly left for the forest, disregarding the building nausea in his stomach as simple nervousness, and called for Reshiram.

Once they had landed in the depths of the forest, his symptoms only worsened. His steps gradually became clumsier, and some of the plants he chose to collect slipped from his fingers before he could put them into his bag. His mind made the connections: he was sick, more so than he had previously thought, likely sick with the same strain that was affecting most of Benu.

"Reshiram—" he began to call, considering asking the dragon if they should change their plans. But the act of turning sent a wave of dizziness through him, and he would have collapsed if Reshiram hadn’t leaned down to support him. He clutched the Pokemon’s feathers with one hand to steady himself as he fought back the urge to vomit.

"Reshiram, I… I feel sick… I don’t think I can—…"

His voice was painful, close to a childish whine; Reshiram regretted not having forced him to turn back sooner. It was the dragon’s duty to protect its hero, but it wasn’t exactly well-versed in medicine. With a growl, it pulled N onto its back and took again to the air.

Back home, there would have been Pokemon in the wild that could help them, Pokemon like Audino that could cure ailments. But here, it seemed the only choice was to return to town and seek human aid.

Reshiram made its landing downtown, taking care not to damage any of the buildings. N slid from its back, his grip too weak to hold himself upright any longer. He tumbled to the ground, where he curled into a pitiful ball, his body wracked by shivers.

These past few days had gone by so slow, mostly because there was nothing to do. Everyone was locked up in their houses, so there wasn't a reason to go out and wander about the town. Plus, he didn't want to become ill just like the majority of the town had, so maybe staying in his own home was for the best.

Letting out a yawn, Koujaku decided he'd head back to bed. The man took one final drag from his cigarette and-

"What the hell?" 

Something peculiar had grabbed his attention, was that....was that a, dragon? He watched closely as a young man tumbled off its back. Kou looked on for a few moments more before he put out his cigarette in the ashtray which was resting on the railing.

Koujaku disappeared into his house, slid on his shoes and went downstairs. He exited through the front door quietly, he was unsure of the dragons nature. It wasn't tryin' to burn up or destroy the village so, it must be ok, right?

He slowly walked towards the younger man and his dragon before coming to a complete stop. Once he got a better view, Kou noticed the young name was just, laying there. Was he dead? He was too far to tell for sure. The white dragon looked as if it was protecting him, so maybe it wasn't a good idea to get any closer, he didn't want to alarm it or anything.

i was on hiatus for a few weeks due to personal issues but since things have been cleared up for the most part, i decided to finally come back! \o

iirc i did owe a few replies to some, i think. i’ll try to get those out as soon as i can. and since i dont wanna make a second post on my second blog, same goes for benishiguree! 

That much was for certain.

Yet when the other had tried to worm his way free of Aoba’s grasp, he felt irritated. The Koujaku he adored was so much more feral, completely lost in his senses, only clinging onto Aoba — merely because he had no one, nothing else to cling to. Or maybe there was more to it than that, but he didn’t care to understand about the why’s behind what he did. Gradually, his grip loosened as he took in what was asked. How should he answer this, he thought — surely there were several ways?

“What happened to me? I wonder more about what happened to you.”

In this place, it was a shame he couldn’t just re-break him. Still, he could make due with this version, maybe. Though the Koujaku before him now was much more suited for the other Aoba — or the original, whichever way one wanted to spin it. That very notion caused him to breathe a long sigh, though not before giving his childhood friend one more squeeze to his arm prior to fully pulling away. 

“Hmm…Koujaku?”

Part of him wanted to believe he was Aoba, he really did. Koujaku wanted to give him a big hug and tell him he was glad to see him, that he was alright, but he couldn't. Not until he was for certain.

He wasn't sure what to think.

"You just look so....different." He paused "Why?"

And yet, the words directed to him only made Sei open a big smile.

"Y'know, he's really calm and caring. Ever since we were young he's always been tryin' to keep the peace." He started off. "There's even been a few times where he's had to drag me out of brawls, eheh." Koujaku let out a soft chuckle, remembering the time Aoba had scolded him for starting a fight with that one brat, Noiz right?

"He's always lookin' out for others." Koujaku continued, letting out a soft sigh. The man hadn't realized how much he'd missed Aoba until now. Kou looked at Sei.

"You remind me a bit of him for some reason, y'know." He said, Koujaku was unsure why he felt as such, but he did. There was just something about the two. "Guess that's why I had no problem believing you're his brother."

Sei's claim took Koujaku aback. Twin brother? Aoba had a brother? This was the first he'd heard of it. He studied the boy's features a second time. This time, however, Koujaku did notice some very slight similarities between the two.

"Brother?...S'that so..."

The man had no reason not to believe Sei, what would he gain from lying about something like this? Plus, the kid seemed pretty down to earth.

He gave Sei another gentle smile. "Well you both look somewhat alike, I guess. I don't see any reason not to believe you...." He said, drifting off. Koujaku wanted to know more about Sei's and Aoba's relation, but felt as if he'd be prying if he asked.